Moses told everyone they had to have a budget. He did not exactly put it that way, but he did tell the Israelites that God said to redeem the 273 first born—the number of Israeli men over and above the number of Levites—by giving five shekels to Aaron and his sons who were priests.

Did those wandering Jews actually budget for this collection? More important for today’s use of money is financially security. This includes dumping debt, building wealth, and giving tzedakah.

Some may instead have spirited discussions at home about money or feel in need of more information to make informed spending decisions.

Temple Beth Shalom is again offering a course that will answer these questions, providing instruction in financial literacy for everyone the Jewish community, including individuals, couples, families, and people of all ages.

Financial Peace University is a nine-session financial literacy course developed by Ramsey Solutions. When Anne Corn, Rabbi Freedman and Rabbi Cohen explored at the content of the course, they felt it was a solid financial course. It was developed with a Christian perspective but they found that most of the references were from the Torah, Prophets and Proverbs.

Freedman, Cohen and Corn decided to create a course which also includes Jewish teachings. As part of the course the rabbis developed learning materials that they present each week.

One participant wrote, “I had avoided this class because I had heard it was Christian. Finding it at Beth Shalom allowed me to step through the door.”

In addition to lessons, text, group activities and homework to develop financial plans, participants will learn what the Jewish texts say about money. There is so much to know about the origins of Jewish beliefs about money.

Participants in last year’s class experienced many successes. Some saw savings go up and debt go down, while others made plans for building wealth. Participants’ stress reduced and experienced better communications about money within families.

Congregations in other parts of the country are interested in following suit. In the year to come,

Ramsey Solutions will work with Temple Beth Shalom to create a learning platform for other Jewish congregations.

The new course will be held at Temple Beth Shalom on Sundays from 9 to 11 a.m. The first class will be held Sept. 30 and the last will be Dec. 16. Classes will be held on weeks when AISD is in session.

Couples are asked to attend together and individuals are asked to choose a financial accountability partner. The cost for the course goes to Ramsey Solutions for the video lessons, text, workbook and online resources for a period of a year. ■